How about the Bad Boys Pistons of the late 1980s? All assholes except for Joe Dumars. The only dislikeable member of the Heat is LeBron, and that's almost all due to The Decision and the pep rally, which has faded from most peoples' minds. Although LeBron's "Come at me, bro" posturing during the trophy ceremony certainly didn't endear him to anybody inclined to hate him.

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Originally Posted by foodguy

yeah, i'd throw in georgetown during the thompson days, university of miami football, nevada-las vegas under tarkanian. i'd say on the whole, the heat is merely irritating. last night i hated them though.

So...Doc to the Clippers, huh? And some journalists are saying he wanted out partly because he didn't want to coach a rebuilding team and partly because he hated Rondo.

Now I've said many times how I believe Rondo is a punk, but is he a truly horrible person or did he piss someone off in the Boston media? I remember they tried to pin Ray Allen's departure on him too

Not sure if you saw the story but allegedly Rondo went at Doc in a practice and Doc went after him like he went after Kevin Johnson when he put in elbow in docs face. Punches weren't thrown because the rest of the team intervened. Hard to see why Doc would want to continue that relationship.

Steve, don't kill yourself or anything, SA was one free throw away from winning and they just did not get the lucky break at the end that you sometimes need to win a game.

Drake looks like a nice submissive bottom in that LeBron pic.

So HRoi, does Miami sit on its laurels and just maybe make a small change in the bench or do they try and move a Bosh for some more beef inside? On the one hand they are the champs, on the other hand they get there through the skin of their teeth (although you could say the same about a lot of champs). I think Riley keeps the team intact, not sure that there is much he could do with the team but I'm sure he is already worrying about how much he can get out of Ray Allen next year and Wade's injuries.

So HRoi, does Miami sit on its laurels and just maybe make a small change in the bench or do they try and move a Bosh for some more beef inside? On the one hand they are the champs, on the other hand they get there through the skin of their teeth (although you could say the same about a lot of champs). I think Riley keeps the team intact, not sure that there is much he could do with the team but I'm sure he is already worrying about how much he can get out of Ray Allen next year and Wade's injuries.

It would be very, very hard to move any of the top 3 because the common perception is that they all sacrificed to be there. If they trade one it's a complete slap in the face and no player would trust Riley and Arison completely again. And the Heat are loyal to a fault as an organization.

Bosh is really tough to move because he's very unique on offense and defense, and the Heat are built around him in many ways. He's the best shooting PF/C in the league not named Dirk and he might even be the best midrange shooter regardless of position. Without him the Heat can't field a Lebron+4 floor spacers lineup that can also guard 2 traditional big men. On defense, there aren't many quick, agile, long wingspan defenders like him that work in the Heat's lightning quick rotation defense.

For both these reasons and the fact that Wade is close to untradeable in the Miami market, I think the three of them stay and Riley is left trying to make the pieces around them fit. Resigning Andersen might be the biggest task for them this offseason

I think the Heat is just one serviceable big man away from a 3peat if the rest of the team are intact. The big has to be able to score though and be an enforcer at the same time, 5-8 pts per game is good per 30-35 minutes. Andersen and Haslem are just not reliable enough and Bosh gets beat in the paint more often than you'd like. Hard part if finding one within their very small budget.

Riley needs to get Greg Oden
I'm not sure if wades knee is just a short term thing or the start of his decline but they can maybe sit him out a few games next season so the regular season isn't as grueling

I think the Heat is just one serviceable big man away from a 3peat if the rest of the team are intact. The big has to be able to score though and be an enforcer at the same time, 5-8 pts per game is good per 30-35 minutes. Andersen and Haslem are just not reliable enough and Bosh gets beat in the paint more often than you'd like. Hard part if finding one within their very small budget.

Exactly. Or Bosh just needs to rebound like he did in the Finals (but I guess that's still suicide against the Pacers or Lakers).

The big cant just be a scorer though. He has to specifically be a scorer from midrange plus. Or else it completely mucks up the Heat spacing, which was their downfall against smart defensive teams like Chicago, Indiana and San Antonio. If they could afford David West he'd be perfect but that's wishful thinking

Exactly. Or Bosh just needs to rebound like he did in the Finals (but I guess that's still suicide against the Pacers or Lakers).

The big cant just be a scorer though. He has to specifically be a scorer from midrange plus. Or else it completely mucks up the Heat spacing, which was their downfall against smart defensive teams like Chicago, Indiana and San Antonio. If they could afford David West he'd be perfect but that's wishful thinking

Bosh for Dirk?

I think only the celtics have made 4 consecutive finals. Its been done thrice (I love the word thrice). The celtics made the finals from 1957-1966 (so more than twice in that spaaaaaaaaan of finals appearances) , then 1984-1987.

The heat are prohibitive favorites to do it, but there are some real contenders coming out of the east (indiana and chicago) as well as powerhouses out of the west.

I have a feeling the heat may strike gold with greg oden. battier must be on his last legs...

According to ESPN Boston, the league is allowing the Celtics and Clippers agreed deal that sends Rivers to Los Angeles in exchange for a 2015 first-round pick.

League rules prohibit attaching players to any deal involving a coach, which means any subsequent trade involving the Clippers and Celtics will likely be vetoed and viewed in violation of the rules.

David Stern recently said on multiple radio programs that the league is watching the situation very closely and has no intention to allow a trade involving Rivers and Kevin Garnett to go through.

So they will allow Rivers to come to the Clippers in exchange of a 1st round pick but it isn't allowed and any other moves after this will be vetoed? How si the exchange of Rivers and 1st round pick not a deal involving a coach and player? Because the pick isn't considered a player (yet)?

So what if Garnett opts out of his contract and follows Rivers to the Clippers, will Stern veto that as well?

I do like how serious Sterling has been this past few years, $21mil for 3 years for a coach? 5 years ago, you'd laugh at anyone who would even consider that as a possibility. Clippers are serious about being contenders, finally! Time to sign CP3!

This is so confusing.
So they will allow Rivers to come to the Clippers in exchange of a 1st round pick but it isn't allowed and any other moves after this will be vetoed? How si the exchange of Rivers and 1st round pick not a deal involving a coach and player? Because the pick isn't considered a player (yet)?

So what if Garnett opts out of his contract and follows Rivers to the Clippers, will Stern veto that as well?

I do like how serious Sterling has been this past few years, $21mil for 3 years for a coach? 5 years ago, you'd laugh at anyone who would even consider that as a possibility. Clippers are serious about being contenders, finally! Time to sign CP3!